Dean D'cruz Goan architect transforms Seven Doors!

The old house Leenika bought!

 This was the house we saw 2 years or maybe 3 years ago in my village of Pilerne, Goa. The house was bought by a couple from Delhi and I got to know them, as they had  met our Pilerne parish priest and given him a really generous offering for the church. They are not Catholic and YET, they felt they needed to support the church in the village where they wanted to live. 

The house when we saw it was a mess and in an area where we Volvaddo residents did not frequent. I used to go to the jeweller with my Dad as a kid to make stuff for Mum and later Dad made for me. That area is called Moicovaddo and we rarely went that way. They had paid the two old brothers who owned it to buy it and arranged for another house close by for them to live out their days. That was truly kind, as I am struggling with relatives robbing and encroaching our land from us. Its a constant battle.

Leenika Jacob  the new owner said they were turning it into an art gallery and had employed the best architect in Goa -- Dean D'Çruz.  Dean is known for his reasonable rates and sticking to Goan traditions in his buildings. None of the glass and chrome frames so favoured by builders today. "He's going to maintain the structure as its solid,"said Leenika but is going to bring in sustainable features like Rain Water Harvesting and natural lighting rather than waste electricity. A man after my heart, I thought and waited watching the place take shape.

This time when we went to pesticide proof our family house which my husband and I spend from our pockets and maintain in memory of my Dad and now my brother Mark, we were pleasantly surprised to see the house was all done. Spanking new and absolutely a work of art. So perfect for the art gallery cum residence Leenika has planned and the artists residences in the back yard where artists from all over the world will be "artists in residence! "

One can see that Dean has kept the main architecture

Of course they are wealthy and have budgets far beyond any of us can dream of. Her husband is a corporate lawyer and between them they have funded their dream. I cant wait to see how buzzing with activity it will be in the future. Bringing much needed investment into that part of the village. I am glad the villagers are being careful with their buyers and not selling to people who will exploit the village. It's a happy thought that with this gallery a lot of creative folk will flock to 'show'in the art gallery.

 The trees have been saved and encase the building in their warm embrace.

The effort which D Ç'cruz has put in is commendable. His workmanship is classy and his finish gracefully elegant. Whats the most admirable is he has built in sustainability into his creation. He cares for the planet and that is visible in all he has introduced as features in the building. Usually people who are educated care greatly about sustainable living, they KNOW its needed today. It's those who come from less sensitized families, who do not understand that we need to preserve our planet for the next generation. I put those naysayers in the Trump category of humans, who will hopefully be done away with forever with this generation.  

   

Our last SEEF event for the year 2022

 

SJIHS & Loyola College were our last group for the year 2022

A 70 strong contingent was our last event for the year 2022. So we went out with a bang. Plus we had the principal of SJBHS and the VP Brian McKertish also present for the final event. I like the fact that the schools ask for the kids to come in uniform. Then we can keep an eye on them when they wander across the farm looking curiously at plants and trees.

Greg walks around showing the kids the trees along the way to the RWH installation

For both Greg and me working with the next generation brings a lot of fulfillment for us. Our older boys do not live in the country, so this is our way of giving back to society. Making kids understand the importance of sustainable living if they are to maintain their planet for the future.

I have been trained by UNEP, UNFCCC, UN Water UNDEP among other arms of the UN teaching sustainable living to journalists. All over the world we were taken to learn hands on so we wrote with knowledge and conviction. For years I have taught young journalists how to be sustainable and write with conviction if they are to make a change.

Amazing concentration and note taking through the sessions!

We dont have enough benches so mats on the floor are fine and the kids are quite adjusting to a rural setting in Hoskote. SEEF’s mantra is that SJBHS kids teach the visitors. For the last three years we have taught the SJBHS kids online and through zoom sessions. Now they have been empowered to take a leadership role and teach  the visitors. Of Course we are there to ensure the whole process is scientific and correct.

The menstrual hygiene session had the girls listening in, rapt attention  

For me being a woman from a very forward thinking family it was shocking to listen to many of the girls voice archaic rules that their grandmothers and mothers foisted on them in the session. Girls who are made to sleep on the floor, cannot enter the kitchen or the temple. They are considered unclean. Shocking stories in the 21st century!

I had a Dad who came to me when I matured to say in New Delhi, that in the South of India, a girl is feted and there is rejoicing when she matures. Go and race and jump, you are not sick. His positive support was such an amazing foundation for me to  never stop through all my cycles and finally have my sons with the minimum of fuss.

With these sessions we are teaching tomorrow's mothers and fathers to throw out old and obsolete ideas and customs and go with science to  love and support their daughters.

Look at the excitement to show her peers that nothing is dirty in handling wet waste

With gloves on and boots we ask which kids would like to jump in and there is a fight to show off their skills! Wet waste if composted at source can bring down the stink in our cities. If we realise WE are the ones to segregate our waste and clean up our city instead of blaming the government, it would change our lives and our cities.

Fr Sunil the principal of SJBHS speaks to the 70 strong gathering.

Beautiful Custard apple Balnagar grafts were put down by the kids!

Naveen brings only fruit from Safal for the kids to mix in the wet waste pit.

The evolution of the Puttenahalli lake !

 

Shocking view of the lake in 2009                         

Several years ago I decided to write about the Puttenahalli Lake JP Nagar 7th Phase, South Bangalore after an acquaintance wrote to me while I was working in the Deccan Herald. They had started doing some work on rejuvenating the lake and this was the year 2006. They tried hard but as usual there was the dirty underbelly of Bangalore who did not care and a lot of building debris continued to be offloaded on the lake bed in the dead of night.  As you can see in the picture it had become a cess pool of garbage and raw sewage effluents released untreated into the lake.

When the lady contacted me she said that it was a group of concerned citizens under the banner of PNLIT who had taken the onus of rejuvenating the lake. Well before all the flooding thats happening in Bangalore. The lake clean up was managed with funding in the group and they held several events to showcase the flora and fauna of the lake. 

The following are some of the trees and plants that grow around the Puttenahalli Lake

• Mahogany
• Cadamba
• Portia tree
• Singapore cherry
• Paradise tree
• Gmelina arborea
• Badminton-ball tree
• Pterygota alata (Buddha coconut)

 

The lake in 2011 with ongoing work

A lot of work carried on from 2009 with tree planting etc and I remember writing a story about the first  Blue Heron sighting on the lake and it generated so much excitement in the group-- you can read my stories in the Hindu below--

https://www.puttenahallilake.in/media-coverage/a-lake-revived

https://www.puttenahallilake.in/media-coverage/return-of-the-native

The work has never stopped and I get regular yearly updates on how the lake is doing from the President Usha R. Makes me fell so good that they have never given up and it probably stood them in good stead with the flooding happening in Bangalore. Smart people!

The transformation in 2022!

It's such an amazing transformation! Look at the first picture and then look at this picture! Makes one's heart swell with the fact that there ARE people who want to help and support whats going on with keeping the lake clean and healthy. Its an ecosystem we need to maintain  and builders need to be fined heavily if they let raw sewage into the lake. Lets use our common sense. That sewage percolates down into the water table and we will pump that polluted water up to drink!

My stories!

I was working on a freelance basis with The Hindu and I knew that saving the lakes of Bangalore was the ONLY way the city could save our water table and be a great means of RWH ( Rain Water Harvesting). Slowly over time, not only was the lake revived by the group, BUT,  I wrote about the first spectacular Purple Heron that had visited the lake after decades.

  
https://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/lake-revived-purple-heron-visits-restored-puttenahalli-lake-bangalore-article-hindu

Click and read about the Purple Heron!

 

And then again I wrote about the beautiful Garganey ducks which had come from Europe to winter in the lake. The birders of the city were ecstatic and the PNLIT group were absolutely thrilled.

 

https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/ducking-it/article2674839.ece

Click and read about the Garganey Ducks

Bella Vista our farm in Hoskote -- a 25 year project in sustainability.

 

                  Hoskote as it was when we bought it 25 years ago

Over 25 years ago my eldest son David went for French tuitions to an Anglo Indian teacher named Miss Davenport. He took French as his second language in his ISC as he wanted to score well which Kannada would not help him to do. During the class the teacher said to all the students -- my relative wants to sell a 2 acre piece of land in Hoskote so if anyone is interested please call me. David pricked up his ears as he knew his mother was crazy about wanting a plot of land to grow all the trees her heart desired. The phone rang and Miss Davenport said Mrs de Nazareth? My heart sank as I wondered what David had been up to. Gingerly I asked -- Yes Miss Davenport? Expecting a barrage of David's misdemeanours which I was used to!

Oh I have a piece of land in Hoskote belonging to Miss Barbra Webster and we want to sell it. David says you would be interested.

My heart stopped beating. Of course I wanted to buy it. And in typical Marianne, impulsive fashion I agreed to her price on the phone without seeing the land.

The first time we saw it was when we went to register it with Dads lawyers --  DaCosta and DaCosta! We registered the sale, money changed hands and we drove down to the property. When I saw it my heart sank. Tears stood in my eyes with shock. Look at the picture above. It was just a waste piece of land -- karaab to the core.

No point getting upset I thought in my usual gungho style. And we ate their cucumber sandwiches and drank their delicious coffee and went home. My heart was in my feet and I wondered what we could do with the great idea of a farm that had swallowed all my savings of one lakh.

Another view of the horrible piece of land I bought!

It had eucalyptus trees planted by the owners to prevent squatters but it was an arid, horrible piece of land, which sloped from right to left with a lot of its top soil eroded. To stop further erosion I decided to buy a truck load of granite stones and along with my sons David and Andrew ( Steve was too tiny) and my husband Gregory, we built a check dam, which you can see us standing on to stop further erosion. It was just a gut feel decision, as I had not had my UN training on sustainability at the time.

Then there was no money left to do any more and I left it alone for over a decade.  Maybe more than a decade till the boys grew up. However I HAD to forcibly step in and enclose the place when a whole swimming pool of the lovely red soil was robbed by thieves every night and being sold to gardeners in Bangalore. There is always a God that steps in to help and a convent in KR Puram was upgrading their walls and so gave me their chapdi kals at a reasonable rate. We transported the stones to Hoskote and began the labour of enclosing the 2 acres. The final icing on the cake was my buying the old convent gate which had a lot of strength left in it!

 The farm today is a paradise of 25 years of work.

The villagers refused to let us enclose the property. No one encloses their land here and how will we go from the front to the back they demanded. So forcibly they made us give up 10 ft by 2 acres all along the property for a road. So we enclosed the front and the back and the sides we bought kucchas and barbed wire and enclosed the whole property. One corner I had no stone so I planted bamboo which is a wonderful hedge once it grows.

Then began the laborious process of employing a man and digging a bore well. Dad stood with my husband Greg one night, while the bore was dug and we hit water at 300 feet. I had to be at home with the babies. We were set now-- or so we thought. In no time all the farmers were digging bores and the bore dried up. So we had to buy tankers of water to look after the graft mango and chickoo trees I had bought from Lalbagh. Dad was clear, be scientific and educated-- buy only graft fruit trees.

Hundreds of chickoos too!

Twenty five years later I am so glad and happy that I listened to him. All the fruit trees give heaps of fruit and we get a steady supply of chickoos, mangoes, avocados, Jamuns, custard apples, Ramphals, Amlas, and massive Jack fruit. 

However water is a huge issue, so we Rain Water Harvest aggressively in both a big RWH pit and also in injection wells which I had put down 20 years ago. These wells have brought up the water table so high with the excess rain, that both the bore wells are working and the entire farm is green and happy.

  The rain has brought us a HUGE crop of Ramphals this year.

  Not only are the farm workers happy, we also are really happy that we are back in the farm and enjoying the fruit of 25 years of money well spent.  

SEEF (Sustainable Environment Education Foundation) is on it's way!

 

          

             SJBHS came in on the 29th October 22

9th of October with Crystal House school

It's been a roller coaster of 6 months when the germ of an idea came to fruition in our farm in Hoskote. For the last 3 years I was working with 2 old boys from St Joseph's Boys School based in the US -- Vijay Nazareth and Lloyd Lobo. We taught kids via ZOOM about composting, Rain Water Harvesting, growing organic veggies and Women's Nutrition with an add on of Menstrual Hygiene.

It was all academic with no real hands on experience. So we decided to open out our farm for free and let the kids run loose in the arms of nature to get a feel of it all. Sustainable living is the buzz word today in our cities which are growing crazily by leaps and bounds.

How disgusting! There will be horrible insects and stink! Eeew! who wants to go near the compost pit. And FINALLY they were so surprised by there being NO Odour or stink as they put it. One of the boys even jumped in after borrowing Narsimappas boots and gloves. Dont throw out your waste to stink up the city -- this was a very easy and free method where in the end we got black gold for our gardens!

Our city kids need to be taught -- forget only kids -- our adults need to realise that being sustainable is in their hands. They can clean up Bangalore stinking roads by just composting and segregating their waste. Look at this boys face -- he was thrilled to be able to aerate the wet waste ( kitchen waste) pit.

For the nutrition section they made spinach pakoras in a cast iron skillet which was polished off by all the kids in minutes. The malabar spinach vine which reminds me of my Mum and her pakoras was well shorn off its leaves. Amazing how some of these kids are so savvy and so confident to make the pakoras right on the spot. I had bought a camper single burner stove which works really well for the demo!

Whats amazing about the programme is we have kids lead it all. We just support and interject if needed. Having rejuvenated a karaab piece of land into the paradise it is today, we are keen on spreading the word so others can learn and encourage sustainable living. The kids are so enthusiastic that it makes our job really easy and fun.

The best part is we have redone the place to make it welcoming and in time will gather enough courage to stay there overnight!

The little roadside library.

                                               

                                                             The little roadside library

 It's such a fun idea and only in the US where people are intrinsically honest can such a concept thrive. The little roadside library which is stocked generously with great books -- by the entire areas homes. The concept is very simple as you can read below the picture -- take a book and give a book. And thats how my 2 1/2 months flew by in Greenville.

I am a voracious reader and can watch movies intermittently. Only a book can hold my attention and so harassing Annika to drive me to a library I felt was infringing on her spare time. So it was with much excitement that I noticed this little library when I was out walking in the fancy neighbourhood that they live in called Cleveland forest.

I would stare in wonder at the fabulous homes in the neighbourhood and realised that my son was living in a posh address like ours on Hayes Road. Dad always told us about the value of a god address and the boys have luckily imbibed that from him. Both have bought in posh localities thereby keeping themselves and their families safe.

                                                     The cutest thing ever!

So once I was done with my book I would walk down and exchange it for another. Ofcourse I had to begin the cycle with one of my own. So I put in an Indian ( British) author Anita Desai with her " Inheritance of Loss" What a book and I wanted other readers to get out of their comfort zone and read a bit about our culture.

Ofcourse in no time when the homes around saw me patronising the library it was being mysteriously filled with just amazing books. It was a good feeling to see top quality books which were probably bought from COSTCO being left there for me to enjoy. 

You see we are the only brown family in the neighbourhood and we were living or my son owned Mr Cleveland's home -- the guy who in centuries past promulgated that no coloureds could live in the neighbourhood!! Well my son bought his house and I hope hes turning in his grave! Life comes full circle so don't push your luck!

My dream project !

 

Look at that black gold we get for free!

My dream project is ready to take off – An Educational Foundation to teach Sustainable Methods of Living to the next generation. Like they famously say when one door closes another opens. My Doc son has stopped my teaching in college given my comorbidity of diabetes and the covid situation and then BOOM! The US Old Boys whom I have worked with teaching the ISC kids for the last two years, were looking at a hands-on project. They were welcome to use my farm for free to educate the poor kids on the efficacy of sustainable living.

Absolutely my cup of tea! 

It's so easy if you want to do it!

Right here in our home on Hayes Road I have run a wet waste compost pit for the last 7 years which has fed the garden for free. A few of our apartment dwellers are environmentally conscious and throw their kitchen wet waste into the pit. Over the years the maali and I have perfected the art of composting quickly and safely.

The gloves help but thorns pierce them

Ofcourse we get the odd dweller who has no ethics and throws his dogs hair and poop into the pit. The sticks of spent roses which are full of thorns and hurt the hands of the maali through the gloves he and I wear. Those in their ignorance throw coconut husk and shells into the pit. Those take forever to compost and should just be discarded into the bins going out into the BBMP trash. But we shoulder on inspite of these cheap ignoramuses.

But by and large  we have very decent and caring residents and along with all the garden waste we compost the wet waste out of kitchens. This includes egg shells, banana skins, coffee grounds and tea leaves, watermelon rinds and pineapple skins. In the Mango season the mango skins MINUS the seeds because the seeds will germinate in the pit are composted!

It has not been easy in the building with owners who come from more ordinary backgrounds and do not follow the same sustainable ethics we were taught as kids. But here in my farm I am going to have a blast working with these Old Boys from the US and it will be a wonderful experience teaching kids how to protect and support mother nature as best they can.